Saturday, October 30, 2010

Ariel's Grotto

When booking our vacation package, the agency asked if I would like to add the character dining. After hearing how expensive it was I thought, "No way! We can see the princesses in the park and there is no need." Fortunately, Tyler and Mindy knew that 1)the lines are ridiculously long to see them in the park and 2)the character dining makes it super special and totally worth the money...especially if Grammy is paying the bill! So, we headed to our lunch date and as happy as I was to go along with the idea, I had no idea what a highlight it would be. Watching Capri see those princesses was absolutely priceless. She was in awe. It was just magical for her, these really were the princesses that she read about, dressed up as, played with as dolls, saw in her favorite movies, and wanted to grow up to be.
What was Roman doing this whole time? He wasn't a fan of any of the characters in Disneyland, princess or not, and yet he was such a trooper sitting through our lunch. He loved being on the water and playing with his cousins:Drew and her little princess:Me and my little princesses:I just loved this picture. Karoline and Naomi are only 3 months apart and were having so much fun getting to know each other on this trip. So, here are the proud daddies and their sweet happy girls:

Our Favorite Rides

Roman went on the Soarin' California ride three times. Did he love it? Yes. Did his dad love it more and also go three times? Yes again. Roman and Lily were pretending to be airplanes the whole time we were waiting to get on, it was great.
Capri's favorite ride was definitely A Small World. She absolutely loved finding all of the Disney characters throughout the ride and she is still singing the song constantly. Love that!
Here is Drew and baby Lala also enjoying the ride:My dad was so sweet to watch Karoline as we were doing Dumbo, but then we couldn't find him in time for Small World. He ran up just as we started and I snapped a picture of the two. He was the greatest grandpa and took Karoline on the ride all by himself:Roman and Capri both loved Dumbo. It was one of the first rides we did in the park and when I was flying high in the purple elephant with Capri she said, "Mom, we are at Disneyland!" Pure joy from that girl.Roman thoroughly enjoyed it as well:My parents, Tucker and Drew took a break from the kiddie rides and went on this crazy fast rollercoaster, California Screamin', while Grammy and I took the twins on the carousel.
Some of the other faves included the Buzz ride for Roman, the Bug's Life Land rides for Capri, and both loved Autotopia. Capri wasn't into the scary stuff as much as Roman. He had a great time on Pirates, Haunted Mansion, the rollercoaster (aka rollyposter for Capri) in Toon Town, and Thunder Mountain (where he tried to raise his arms like the big kids!). Capri, on the other hand, was terrified of going on Peter Pan, didn't like the rollyposter, and thought the pirates were, "too scary, I don't like them, mom."

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Oktoberfest!

A few weeks ago, the Curtis and Nielson families joined up to enjoy what Snowbird's Oktoberfest had to offer. It did not disappoint! We forget how lucky we are being so close to some of the most beautiful mountains, but this was a great reminder.
We first took the tram to the top of Hidden Peak. The tram ride itself was worth the trip, the kids loved it...
Karoline may not have known what was going on, but she is always happy to go anywhere and do anything...Tanner and Drew's precious little one Isla, who also loved the ride...Once we got to the top, we took in the 360 degree views. Here is Grammy with Karoline:
Grandpa and Grandma:
Cody and Cheri were even up for coming as one of there first big outings since baby London was born...The happy mom with her sweet girl...
My brother Richard and his girlyfriend Janneka...gorgeous!The kids were having so much fun throwing rocks from the top while I was freaking out that they were too close to the edge...
I didn't get it in the picture, but the very next peak over is Mt. Baldy. It brings back great memories of hiking with my friend Jessica. We hiked from Snowbird to Mt. Baldy and on to Alta where her cabin was and it was amazing. Loved those days-thanks Jessica for getting me to come along!
Once we got back down we ate a delicious lunch and let Capri get her face painted. She was in heaven...
This may be the start of a new tradition!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Falling into fall...

I love the fall and we have had an exceptional one so far here in Utah. To take it all in, we headed up to Silver Lake (something we do every fall with my family-truly a tradition) in September. I just love it up there! The colors were incredibly vibrant and the glassy lake provides a perfect reflection. Absolutely gorgeous. There is nothing better than being in such a beautiful place with my sweet family. The kids love walking around the lake, finding walking sticks along the way, exploring the swampy parts of the lake, watching the ducks, and just having adventure after adventure with their cousins.
We had literally just started walking when Roman and Capri had to stop and play in the stream:
Roman and Daddy playing one of their favorite games-Roman falls forward as far as he can with Tucker holding on to his legs:Me and my Karoline, the sweetest baby that loved just being in the stroller:
Capri and the perfect rock to pose on:

Roman got ahold of his cousin's hat and he thought it was pretty cool:As content as ever...and always:
Roman and Kaleb...yeah, I think they were having fun:
The girls (Karoline, Jesse, Mom, Cheri, London, Capri and me):
The whole family!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

The Curtis Drive-In Proudly Presents...

The Killers. Great movie, but even better when you are watching it outside in your backyard with your favorite people.Check out our sweet setup:
p.s. My dad bought this projector and screen for his genealogy work at the Greek museum in Magna...never been to the museum, but glad he got it for us to use!

1st Day of School...

Wow, my kids are in real preschool. South Jordan Montessori to be exact. I was so nervous to send them for various reasons. First, Roman needed to be potty trained. Let's think back to a year ago when I attempted to potty train just Capri. Not going to happen. Roman wanted in on all the sticker and treat action so he decided he would use the potty as well. That lasted on an off until Christmas. We were busy, I was getting a bit lazy, and I decided to go back to diapers. Big mistake. With the addition of Karoline, I never wanted to commit to training him all over again. Then we go to his school orientation and I am reminded that he has to be trained to enroll. I had 2 weeks...and we did it!
The other issue I had with preschool was simply how much time they were going to spend away from home...and me. Four days a week, Monday through Thursday, and three hours each day, 12:30-3:30. That is a lot of time spent without my kiddos. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate my new slot of "twinless time," aka productive time. It's just that I worry about them handling it okay. The last thing I wanted was for my 3 year-olds to be stressed out.
So far so good. They absolutely love their school and everything about it, their teachers, friends and what they are learning. There is no reason not to either. This school is absolutely incredible. One of my dear friend's aunts run the program out of her home. Just the setting is perfect with all of the workspace, kitchen, and outdoor areas including playgrounds, sand box, trampoline and even a chicken coop! That is Roman and Capri's favorite part, they get to check for eggs everyday.
Because it is a true montessori program, each child works at their own pace, individually or with a teacher, as they complete their "works." There are several "works" in each area of learning, social studies, mathematics, reading, writing, science, art, etc. Once the child has been given a one-on-one lesson on the new work, they attempt to complete it. I am so grateful for this set-up because I know it's just what they need at their age to not only learn in the best possible setting, but to gain a sense of accomplishment and confidence. There are plenty of social aspects to the program as well with rug time and recess. Perfect for my kids!
Here they are all ready for their first day:


Can you sense their excitement!